Day 42: Joined Forces

There are only six short days until Miss Spokane/ Inland Empire, so it is time to feature another sister. Brittany Cozza is Miss Inland Empire and her platform is titled Joining Forces- Serving America's Military and Their Families. She has spent her year working with the armed forces and promoting their service. After finding out a little bit more about her platform, I was struggling to decide between so many ideas on what I could do for her and her platform. It hit me when Tiffany and I ran into Brittany on National Pancake Day.

(Brittany Cozza, Miss Inland Empire 2012)

Tiffany has a brother who served in the Marines and now works for a recruiting office in Spokane. Tiff and Brittany chatted about his service and as they did, I decided I would do something to show my appreciation for Tiffany's brother. This was a someone within the community whom I could make a difference for. I hadn't already been directly linked to someone in the Spokane area.

I didn't want to buy anything too sweet for men who were trained to eat well. So, I resorted to Tiffany's sister-in-law, who conceptualized the idea we went with. We started with a mug and Starbucks gift card for coffee, mints (it's not a candy), pens, highlighters and notepad for recruitment.

Tiff and I then made a trip to see him and drop off the gift. I was able to meet her brother, Matt and two other recruiters. All were so pleasant and appreciative and I am so happy I was able to come together and join forces. 

God bless all of those who have served, are serving or will serve in the Armed Forces & their families! 

Love, Kailee

Day 38: Valentines For Soliders

I am so grateful for our soldiers and international heroes. However, I think most people- including myself- only show our thanks on Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, the holidays etc. Personally, I wasn't aware of this until the other day. A Facebook friend had posted about helping make valentines for our soldiers. The idea struck me; Why had I never thought of that?! Her sweet invitation made me want to join immediately, but our times got jumbled and I was unable to make it. That, however, did not stop me from running to the store and buying a few boxes of candy.

Because the candy and goodies are going internationally, there are some restrictions on what to and what not to send. A good site to find what you can send is http://www.give2thetroops.org/items.htm. Since Valentines Day is quickly approaching, I am going to give my valentines to the veterans hospital here in Spokane. I'm sure their is a local military office that would love to receive the valentines just as much.

On Valentine's Day, I dare you to swing by, say hello and perhaps leave a small treat for our heroes. God bless them all and bring them home safe!